Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself

Georgina Brown (hershe)
Jul 10
3 min read

Updated: Jul 12

We’ve all got habits. Morning coffee. Side-eyes at email chains. The way we make the same three faces in Zoom or Teams meetings (you know the ones). But what if I told you that your biggest habit — the one that quietly runs your entire life — is being yourself?

Enter: Dr Joe Dispenza’s Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, a book that smacks you lovingly across the cerebral cortex and says, “Hey love, your personality is just a repeated pattern of neural fireworks. Want to change your life? Change your wiring.”

Same Brain, Same Biases

Now don’t get me wrong — I love a good ritual. But when it comes to inclusion, many of us are stuck on the neurological equivalent of auto-pilot: scanning for familiarity, shortcutting to the safe bet, and playing the same internal Spotify loop of “They’re Not Like Me, Proceed With Caution.”

Dispenza’s genius? He explains that your thoughts are not just thoughts — they’re neurochemical events. Every time you react with the same eye-roll, micro-aggression, self-doubt, or panic about saying the wrong thing... guess what? You’re reinforcing the very identity you say you’re trying to outgrow.

This Is Why BARDO NIMM Doesn’t Do “Awareness Training”

Awareness alone is so last decade. You can be aware that sugar is bad and still mainline three cookies during a meeting. Awareness is just step one. To change, we need to rewire.

That’s where BARDO’s NIMM (Neuroscience-Informed Maturity Model) comes in, joyfully dismantling outdated inclusion strategies one neuron at a time. It doesn’t just teach you about bias — it shows your brain how to stop repeating it.

We harness dopamine to make inclusive habits feel rewarding.
We tap into neuroplasticity to help you choose a better next thought.
We use oxytocin to build trust and serotonin to build safety.
And we laugh. A lot. Because endorphins are your inclusion superpower.

If Your Brain's on Repeat, Your Culture Is Too

Dispenza says, “If you want a new outcome, you’ll have to break the habit of being yourself, and reinvent a new self.”

Same goes for organisations. If your workplace keeps hiring, promoting, or trusting the same types of people in the same ways, you’re not broken — you’re just firing old neurons like a ‘90s mixtape. It’s time to remix.

Inclusive leadership isn’t about nice intentions or feeling bad about your privilege. It’s about changing your biology on purpose. It’s about shifting from “I know better” to “I do differently.”

So What Now?

Glad you asked. Ask yourself these juicy little questions:

Reflection Rewires

What “version” of yourself is getting most of the airtime lately? Is that who you want driving your decisions?
Where do you feel stuck, samey, or safe? What might your brain be avoiding?
What’s one surprising, inclusive action you could take this week that would delight your dopamine?
If your team had a brain, what would its wiring say? Who gets included… by default?